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Is My Blog Dead? (#347)

The below is what happens in my brain after I haven’t posted in a few days. Every day the intention is to post. With a new full-time gig, a pending house purchase, and a god awful commute, finding the time has been a struggle. Hopefully, you will enjoy the neurosis that is my brain brought to the page.

Day 1: Okay, I’ll post this morning. I have a lot of ideas. Can’t wait to write. But, I only have 45 minutes before work. Should I write some stuff for twitter instead? Dear god, when will I find the time to twitter? My twitter can not go cold! Cold twitter is like cold sake! Wait, that’s not so bad.

Day 2: Okay, didn’t post yesterday. Today is the day. I’ll do it during lunch.

Lunchtime on Day 2: Boss just handed me a crushing workload. It seems just as I’m working through the list, the list grows. Maybe I can write and drive. You can write and drive a car, right? That’s not the same as texting and driving, right? Will Oprah hate me? I don’t want Oprah to hate me.

Day 3: I’ve got to get this post out. I want to write about my blog being dead. I also want to write about attempting to buy a house. I also want to write about Boston. I also want to write about that time I stubbed my toe and it led to a deep philosophical talk with myself. I have tons of ideas. I’ll get to them tomorrow.

Day 4: Am I not dedicated enough? I’m writing these twitter jokes at 630am. That’s the problem. Mary Higgins Clark got up and wrote every day between 4am – 8am. I need to get up earlier.

Author, Mary Higgins Clark

Day 5: Up at 4am. Ugh, the dogs are up too. The puppy won’t stop biting the older dog in the ass. He thinks it’s funny. He bites it and then he runs away. He’d do this all day if I let him. Maybe the puppy is a metaphor for the world and I am the older dog. World, please stop biting me in the ass.

Missed another day writing. Can’t be the dog peacemaker and get a post out. Excuses, excuses, excuses.

Day 6: I need to telecommute. How does one turn a regular job into a telecommuting gig? Maybe I’ll tell them I’m pregnant. I’ll have to start stuffing my shirt. I could seriously do all of this work from home. Hell, I’d get 2.5 hours back in commute time alone. They’ll never go for it. Ugh, spent writing time googling, “How to turn your job into a telecommute position.” It never ends.

Day 7: Wifesy wants to go look at houses. That’s what I need an office. An office where I can shut the door, in a real house, that would solve the problem. Dear god, so expensive. I’ll never be able to stop working. That’s okay, I need to work. I also need to write. Maybe I need a rich benefactor. Didn’t Monet have one of those? Why do I feel like my benefactor would want fetish pictures of my feet next to watermelons? It’s just a feeling I have. Okay, no foot fetish benefactor. Sigh.

Day 1: Feck! I went an entire week without writing. What does this say about me? My work? My life? Will I ever create again? Have I become just another cog in the corporate wheel? No, everyone has to take care of their responsibilities. Me, included. I’ll tell you one positive thing, when you stop writing for a week or so – the spammers add your blog in mass. I think I’ve gained a couple hundred followers in spam/ fake accounts within mere weeks. Hello, Spammers! Welcome! And thank you for increasing my numbers. Mind you, I’m still not going to approve your nonsensical comments.

All photo credits below…

Day 2: I WROTE TODAY! I WROTE TODAY! I wrote about this blog being dead. Now, when am I going to find the time to publish this thing? And feck, I’ve got to find some pictures. Well, there’s always tomorrow if I just can’t get it done today. Wait…

A note from Sweet Mother: Well, I suppose all of the above has been a note from Sweet Mother. (tee, he) Just wanted to let you all know I’m alive. (Meeks, thank you, in particular, for asking.) Still working out a way to find the time for it all and failing most of the time. But, as Day 2 of Week 2 says, “There’s always tomorrow.” Hope you all are well and thriving. Mother.

*** If you’d like to take a stroll through the writings of Sweet Mother, please check out the “Read More Sweet Mother” section.

Knew you were working full time so I was extremely patient, SM. I haven’t been checking twitter but I knew you’ve been there. Dogs are important. Commutes are pure hell. I’m way behind reading posts anyway and have absolutely no time to write one of my own. (At least some people will be happy) Take care of yourself and wifesy..Write when you can. Love you lots.

I knew you hadn’t abandoned the blogosphere, just suffering from time deficiency like the rest of us. So, so glad you have a full-time gig to pay for, you know, food and stuff. I once had a 100 mile round-trip daily commute. yeah, it sucked, but now – no commute – no paycheck either. HA!
btw, did immodiumabuser follow you yet? if not, they too will be around to skunk up the joint. they left their shitprints over here! xoxo

Reading this almost made me want to switch to decaf. Thanks for the ride in your crazymobile. Please don’t write and drive. If you can, maybe you can dig out a 1970s era dictaphone and simply dictate while you drive. I think that is permissible.

I’ve missed you… missed your writing and humor; missed you on my blog; missed YOU. I was going to write and ask where you were, but I figured that all the stuff had piled up and you were taking a break. Glad that there are so many good things filling the blog time. But, I miss you.

I thought you were able to telecommute. That stinks that you lose all that time driving. Maybe you can use a recording device and make up tweets as you drive? That’s at least something.

Life can be crazy; some things have to go. We love you wherever you are!

By the way, I think many of us have been getting lots of spam followers. I’ve had several per day, and I know Le Clown posted something on his FB page about that very thing. And some spammers are good–it can be difficult to tell whose blog is legit or not.

AND YOU CHANGED YOUR AVATAR??!! i can’t take it! it’s too much! loool. yeah, the spam thing is crazy. it’s been by the dozens at least. hey, did you see your post on our fb page? did it drive traffic at all? that happened on monday, i’ll send you some screenshots. xoxoxoxo, sm

I’m glad I’m not the only one who says every day, “I have to blog!” and doesn’t get it done. And, I’m like you in that I have plenty to blog about. Life has to be lived and the writing fits in when you get to it. It’s nice to be missed though, isn’t it?

it is, indeed, jeanne, it is indeed. you are right. it fits in where it fits in and that is the end of that. but, lord knows i’m the crazy sort, so i’ll always be yelling at myself about it. i’d like to be under that palm tree in your avatar right now. thanks for reading. xo, sm

I’ve missed my Sweet Mother fix. But, I actually had a chance to im with you for a couple minutes, so I knew you were very busy. An idea: Maybe look into wholesaling real estate? I currently am. I just hate the idea of cold calls. I got the “privelige” of doing that for a living – for about 2 months. Ha. I sucked at it.

I, too, understand about wanting to write and not having time for it. My biggest problem, though is procrastination (my new job is only part-part-time). Look forward to reading more, Rebecca. When you get the time, that is. 😉

So funny that you say that. My real estate agent said I should go into it, that I have the personality for it. Too funny. Lord, I don’t know if I have the time. But, it warms my heart that you’re doing something sorta cool like that. At least, I find it cool. Yep, hopefully I’ll be able to write more soon. Looking forward to it and it’s good to read you too, foster. loool. xo, sm

I missed your posts! You know a blogger is damn good when I find myself missing them and their posts.
Plus, you’ve just described the process I go through pretty much every week to write a friggin post. Just replace “house hunting” with “planning a wedding” and replace “dogs biting in the ass” with “my cat is ruining my work shirt.”

we are living parallel lives! lol. and one day we are going to do that podcast idea. have to put it on hold with all this nonsense. but, it’s a great idea that we will do at one point. can’t wait to read your stuff again. thanks for popping by here, lyssa. xo, sm

-big hugs- So relieved you’re ok, and like everyone else, I’ve missed you. 🙂 Life sounds mad at the moment, but in a good way. Congratulations on the job, commute or no commute. Just hope you can say hello every so often.

oh, meeks, you were the damn inspiration for this post! i promise i will. it’s going to be a crazy summer. but, that’s life, now, isn’t it. and fyi, i’ve been reading you. from afar on my phone. but, still… 😉 xo, sm

The spammer followers sucks. I just recently got a ton of them, also. At first, I was really impressed about how popular I’d become in both Brazil and Paraguay, then realized that these were spammers and not actual readers.

we do indeed live oddly parallel lives. i hear you on that. the house is going to be both amazing/ and feckin’ annoying, all wrapped into one. but, we have a goddermned pool (the only reason worth living out here!!) so i intend to nestea plunge myself into the thing whenever my limits are reached! and yes, i would teleport to work. 😉 sm

Reblogged this on Exploring Pixie and commented:
So I was wondering how to write that I cannot write at the moment, and then read Sweet Mother’s latest post. Let me be completely lazy and simply reblog…
Love you all, will be back one day! (I hope…)

Oh I am so glad you haven’t abandoned us, even if it is simply to tell us you haven’t abandoned us. I have missed you. Life does bounce us about a bit now and then. Don’t be hard on yourself. The past few weeks I have wanted to stick sharp objects in my ears so I can’t hear stupid people talking to me, life does step in a teach us lessons.

vals, your comments are always awesome. i too need those sharp objects. though, i think many of the ppl driving me nuts would love it if i were deaf. so, i’d like to gently bludgeon them all with a sharp pillow. you see how i did that? both gentle and aggressive at once. lool. xoxo, sm

Reblogged this on Christopher De Voss and commented:
It’s reblog Thursday and it feels fresh and clean.

I don’t know what that means either.

Sweet Mother is on my list of comedians to see, but she likes to tour near Florida, but never in Florida…

I think she is secretly afraid of states that begin with F.

Despite this post about not writing for a week, generally she writes quite a bit. So, you know if your into reading funny things, you might want to check this blog out. It’s not like my blog, it’s actually good.

de voss, you are a gentleman and a scholar. that’s what the me from 1865 would’ve said about you. but, seriously, thank you for this re-blog. it is very much appreciated. as soon as i get over my fear of ‘f’ states, i’m there. lol. much love, sm

2.5 hours commute… yumpin’ yimminy… I know you’re in LA, and have everything going on there, and everyone there has nightmarish commutes, but that’s muy loco. You know what you should do? You should get really rich and get a helicopter. Problem: solved.

Also, can I have your Twitter jokes? Because I tweet every 3 days or so and then wonder why I don’t have any followers.

twitter is a beyatch. i sort of love her and hate her at the same time. same goes for pretty much everything i do online. loool. yep, the commute is nightmarish… i’m going to have to do something about it. that’s for sure. and yes, to the helicopter. thanks for reading, byronic. seriously. xo, sm

It’s funny the day before this post He-Who was scouring the web trying figure out why he hadn’t heard from you. I told him you were OK and that I had seen you on twitter. He was so happy when this post popped up. Of course I agree with him. You are like a family member now. When we don’t hear from you for awhile we worry. Neither one of us ever posts on a regular basis so nobody notices when we aren’t there.
Thanks for the catch up and the great read. Take care of yourself and Wifesy and touch base whenever you can.

it’s so funny that you say that. i feel the same about you and he-who – like you’re the cool relatives i never had! lool. alright, some of them are cool. but, not many. 😉 and i love that you said, ‘i’ve seen her on twitter.’ it’s sort of amazing that we keep tabs on each other this way. i do the same. i see something pop up from anyone of my favorite peeps here and no matter what i’m doing, it sorta makes me smile. oh, strange internet, what an odd little gift you are. much love to you and he-who, mg. xoxo, sm

For me, the sad fact is my foodie blog, which is about two months behind in posting, still gets more traffic than my writing blog. I’ll have to ask my puppy to start biting the older dog’s butt so I can post a video or something! Love the humor! I can relate to your situation!

thanks for saying so, dj. maybe you need to switch your writing over to your food blog? because let me just say, i don’t know how in the f anyone keeps TWO blogs going. that’s a major feat in my opinion. anyhoo, thank you so much for reading and stopping by here. i really appreciate it. xo, sm

Have you tried suggesting the telecommute thing? Maybe start with one day a week, and then increase it to two or three? I telecommute full-time, and I wouldn’t recommend. Maybe a few days a week, but not all five.

hello j and t! it’s so nice to hear from you. you know, i’m in this ‘contract to hire’ position and at the end of my contract period, i’m going to bring it up. i think telecommuting at my job could never be fulltime because i do need to interact with the editor guys somewhat. however, i DO know that it could be done at least 50-75% of the time with me at the office the other 25-50% – for meetings and the like. that would, in fact, be the perfect solution. any tips on how to broach the subject? did you bring it up or did your boss? or was your position set up that way from the get go? curious minds want to know. 😉 anyway, much love j and t. and thank you for stopping by here. xo, sm

This particular position was like that from the get-go because my company was acquired by a company in Boston, and that’s a far commute from Portland 😉

At my last position I actually talked to my manager. I asked if I could do some of my duties at home (I listed the ones I was thinking of in particular) and noted that I had everything set up to do the job. I made the case that being at home would make me more productive since I needed quiet to do certain aspects of my job. 1 day a week eventually turned into 2.

I’ve been reading all along, but it’s hard to comment from my phone! Finally had time to sit down at my computer.

ks, this comment got stuck in the no man’s land of ‘pending comments’ thank you for leaving it and thank you for saying so. i truly appreciate it. honestly, a lot of you here really keep me going. xo, sm

Funny thing im saw words ‘Mary Higgins Clark’ in the post and i say to myself..i have heard that name..where where where…i turn around and there i see her book on my bed side shelf… 😛 i was like…OHhhh Okay…that Mary Higgins Clark… 😛